On Sunday I had an spark of inspiration shortly after dropping Sinéad off for the bus to Boston. She was heading down to Bean Town to enjoy a couple days of girl time with her mom. The highlight of which was the Pink concert last night. The inspiration was to use the rest of my free day to find a waterfall and try to capture an image worth putting on the wall.
I decided to relax for a while and allow the mid day lighting to pass by. The forecast was predicting clouds in the Jackson, NH area until 4PM. Knowing the drive, I left with plenty of time for a stop or two along the way.
It was nearing 50° as I made my way out the door. Knowing the Mt. Washington area, I decided it was a good idea to at least bring along a jacket (and extra hoodie). I was glad I did! I arrived at a scenic view parking lot to find my change of scenery also was a change in temperature - the car reported 30°, the wind reported much colder. The view was beautiful, so I ignored the cold, bundled up, and setup for a shot.
Ignoring the cold only works for so long, especially when the winds are biting. I was sure I had something to work with, so I packed back up and made my way down through Crawford Notch. My destination was at the other side of Mt. Washington. There was still quite a lot of driving left to do.
Story Land
Stopped by a deserted Story Land parking lot to catch up on some messages.
I had found sunlight and temperatures nearing 40° as I swung down into Bartlett and Jackson. I made my way back north on 16 and soon found myself below 30° and in some snow. Not exactly the what I was hoping for, but I had arrived at my destination.
Glen Ellis Falls
The entrance to the parking lot was closed, but there was still enough space at the entrance to park. I bundled up, put on my hiking boots, had everything ready in my backpack, and made my way to the trail head sign. I wasn't sure if it was due to the season, but the trail head map was no help in figuring out where I needed to go. Fortunately, there was a pretty well trodden path that led to a tunnel under Rt. 16. I proceeded to the tunnel and discovered quickly what the rest of the hike was going to be like.
The path was all ice... And the stair cases were only recognizable by the corner tips poking out slightly from a well packed sheet. It was a dangerous walk, and I wished that I owned crampons. But, I knew I was close to seeing the waterfall, and the landscape at the top left me thinking it was going to be a sight worth the effort. So, I made my way along the trail.
An attempt to paint the trail map. Terrain Map from Google Maps.
Stairs breaking through
The easiest section of stairs. Those log railings were the only way I made it there and back.
The strong possibility of falling deterred me from taking too many photos on this trail. I did eventually make it down to the bottom of the falls, and got my gear setup for the shot I was wanting.
The Setup
It was a nice little spot to setup for a shot
Excited for the end result I packed my gear back up and climbed my way back up the trail. Got back to the car, and headed back into North Conway. It was getting close to sunset so I stopped to take in another scenic view spot. I didn't worry too much about photographing it, jut got to enjoy a bit of the view while filling Sinéad in on the adventure.